Lowe has the Spurs as his first bullet on his weekly column so nice to see your favorite team is still relevant nationally. He doesn't point any fingers to the reason the roster is as it was, or the coach's rotations. The core-four young swingmen get some credibility.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...-bucks-mystery
1. The state of the Spurs
I found it -- the precise moment the Spurs' defensive backslide hit its nadir:
The Gregg Popovich we know and love -- the version coaching a team with a chance to do anything of consequence -- calls an angry timeout and reams DeMar DeRozan. This Popovich, resigned to San Antonio's uninteresting mediocrity, slumps his shoulders, points toward Joe Harris, and halfheartedly reminds DeRozan: Yeah, he's a really good shooter. I didn't think we needed to review that. Try to avoid leaving him wide open.
.....
They showed very little chemistry on defense. It's tempting to chalk that up to the Spurs being a mishmash of young and old, but that was the case a year ago -- when they won 48 games and ranked closer to league average on defense.
.....
Rudy Gay fell off a cliff. DeRozan had perhaps his worst defensive season since he was a rookie. He might as well have been holding a red cape.
None of this is to bury the Spurs over the next half-decade. Dejounte Murray is a dementor, and has a chance to be a two-way force. Derrick White had a frustrating two-steps-forward, two-steps-back season, but he's going to be good. Lonnie Walker IV earned some of Popovich's trust, and adds needed open-court dynamism. Keldon Johnson looks the part of rangy, multipositional wing.
.....
Poeltl can grow into a starting center on a good team. He will have several suitors in free agency, but the Spurs can match any offer. I still trust San Antonio to draft well despite the well-do ented front-office brain drain.
That group of young guys lacks a tentpole star. We all know who that was supposed to be before things went haywire.
How the Spurs transition out of this holding pattern looms as one of the league's most fascinating and important storylines for the next few seasons.
The lack of a tentpole star is both obvious and probably ends up true, but I wouldn't be so quick to rule out Walker and if one of his pet teams had him, he probably wouldn't be either.
"He (Poeltl) will have several suitors" is both not surprising and concerning considering the front office's aversion to positive impact players.
Had they offered 4/$28-32M, they probably could have had him locked up last year. Instead, with their luck, watch someone make him a bloated offer.
No mention of forms?
DeRozan is so trash. I can't believe people want to sign this guy. Get rid of him, even if he offers a discount. He's a net negative
Lowe can be gravitating in his analysis sometimes...but can't argue with much he says here.
Also, in the two video examples he gives:
The first is a case of DeMar over-helping on Rudy (who got blown by, which has become the norm for the slow-footed veteran). DJ could have rotated out to Harris, but it still wouldn't have come in time. DeMar should have just stayed with his man and let the weak-side defense try to cover it.
The second has Lyles trying to cover two positions at the same time while Forbes gets stuck in no-mans-land trying cover. Lyles even tries to point out Forbes' assignment to him, but it's too late.
Net-net....DeMar and Forbes are still the wink leaks in these sequences. Please.....please just leave.
Last edited by Dex; 04-10-2020 at 06:16 PM.
Rudy Gay - The new old guy the Spurs love overpaying for no real basketball reason.
This draft and next years draft are gonna be interesting for our guys. This draft has the potential to be the oddest in recent history.
Trade DDR/Murray/Mills/Gay for Beal/Wall/2 1st Rd picks
would still do it if Washington only wanted to give up 1 1st Rd pick
Dejounte Murray is a dementor, and has a chance to be a two-way force.
Thank god we have derozan
Spurs are done
Just go full rebuild try to leverage DEROZZ and LMA for as many draft picks as you can get. Also I would be on the phone non stop for anyone offering up draft picks for Walker, White, and Metu don’t give them away but if someone is giving you something good don’t pass it up.
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